Grosvenor Arch, near Kodachrome State Park
Unnamed arches in Willis Canyon
Shakespeare Arch in Kodachrome State Park
Sandstone in west Zion National Park
The Vortex
Close up of modern petroglyphs in the bottom of The Vortex. Click for larger.
Eastern end of Long Canyon
Design in sandstone
Oak Leaf in Lick Wash
Go forward to Utah 2016, Part 4.
Go back to Utah 2016, Part 2.
Un-named slot canyon near Long Canyon.
A slot canyon is deeper than it is wide. They can be fun to photograph due to the light reflections. They are nice to explore in the middle of a hot day, offering shade and cooler temperatures. I hiked in several slot canyons on this trip. Click on each photo for larger versions.
Entrance to another unnamed slot canyon joining Long Canyon.
This slot canyon has cottonwood trees growing near the entrance.
Willis Canyon
Willis Canyon
Looking straight up from the bottom of Willis Canyon.
It’s like being inside a giant mouth with molars.
Willis Canyon
Looking across the top of a slot canyon. You can almost jump across.
Looking down into the slot canyon of Bull Valley Gorge.
Lick Wash
Go forward to Utah 2016, Part 3.
Go back to Utah 2016, Part 1.
I recently spent about 10 days in southern Utah, both camping and staying with friends. I experienced all kinds of weather: hot, cold, wet and dry. Rather than present my trip as a travel log, I decided just to group certain photos together along with my thoughts. Click on any photo for a larger version.
Red Canyon
For the most part, I hiked in areas less travelled. I had thought about going to Bryce Canyon National Park, but it happened to be on a weekend (not that a weekday would have made much difference), and the traffic leading into the park was heavy, so I turned around and headed for the dirt roads.
Being spring time and with the recent rains, many plants were blooming.
Yellow prickly pear cactus.
Claret cup cactus
Evening primrose
This was probably blooming a million years ago. Fossilized plant material.
Not exactly blooming, but pretty none the less. (Click for the larger version to see the detail.)
It always amazes me where plants choose to take root (probably not a conscious choice). There’s plenty of sand and dirt around for a plant to grow in, but perhaps these cracks have more moisture in them.
Utah fleabane growing in a crack in the canyon wall.
A single leaf ash and a pine are sharing the same crack.
Jack Rabbit sniffing Scotch broom.
My friends George and Kristine as we explored Manganese Wash.
Go forward to Utah 2016, Part 2.
